Clint Bowyer's crew hustles to service his No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet at Homestead. Bowyer won the Nationwide title before a rather sparse crowd

Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

MIAMI—In a historic first for motorsports, Homestead-Miami Speedway will host five world-class motorsports championships in 2009, as the IndyCar Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series join the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series Championships. In doing so, Homestead-Miami will become the first speedway ever to host all of the premier North American motorsports championships.

Homestead-Miami Speedway will be the site of the 2009 IndyCar and Grand-Am finales on Oct. 10, and NASCAR’s series-crowning Ford Championship Weekend Nov. 20-22.

“This is a moment on par with any announcement in recent motorsports history,” said Homestead- Miami Speedway President Curtis Gray. “Because this is more than a South Florida celebration; this is international motorsports history. As host to the championship finales of the IndyCar Series, Grand-Am and NASCAR, Homestead-Miami Speedway is irrefutably THE Championship Track.” Homestead-Miami Speedway shares a rich partnership with both the IndyCar and Grand-Am Series, as IndyCar opened its season in South Florida for seven years running (2002-2008), and Grand-Am has run at Homestead-Miami since 2000—the series’ inaugural season.

“IndyCar is anchored by such a decorated open-wheel history and is poised for a phenomenal future driven by this year’s reunification with Champ Car,” said Gray. “And Grand-Am is universally regarded as one of the world’s most competitive road-racing organizations. That both IndyCar and Grand-Am have chosen to move their championships to Homestead-Miami Speedway says more about our facility and Miami as a championship host city than anything I can put into words. “There is not another city in the country that hosts a major national championship year-in and year out— not the Super Bowl, not the World Series, not the NBA Finals and not the Stanley Cup,” said Gray. “As host to NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend since 2002, Miami is the only city in America to annually host the championship of any major sport. With the addition of IndyCar and Grand-Am, we’re now going to celebrate five motorsports championships next fall at Homestead- Miami Speedway—THE Championship Track.”

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